I've Learnt
by WikketKrikket
Summary: A SetoAnzu fic for Valentines. He never knew he wanted to change. He never even knew he could. Fortunatly, with a little prompting, he might just figure it out. The heartbeat is a driving rhythm, one that you might just be able to dance to.


A/N: It's been a while since I wrote a one-shot for a particular occasion, and so, here it is- a Seto/Anzu story just for Valentines day. Is it just me, or are there less and less S/A fics being posted? Meh. Here's my attempt, anyways, please enjoy! I know Seto is grossly OOC, but that's the way we like him best. ;-) Please bear with it- There is sort of a reason for his behavior… a fairly pathetic one, but… I'll stop before I put you all off. _(Sweatdrop)_

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, or anything else used in aid of the Fancy dress, okay? Also, the bits in _plain italics _are from a chain E-mail thing that I didn't write. That's all, so let's go!

I've Learnt

**_It had been two years. It had also been twelve years. She would be seeing him later, forcing him into what he still insisted was a 'cheap, commercialised, waste of time'; and yet, he had still E-mailed her. It wasn't the sort of thing he usually sent, one of those forwards, but after a small note above it saying that 'As it's Valentines…', she read on. As she read, she couldn't help but think about how true the statements were, couldn't help but remember that Valentines, two years ago, when she had first seen the real him._**

_I've learnt...that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. _

At the last moment, Seto remembered his English papers, and forced them into his briefcase above projections of stocks and shares. He didn't like carrying his documents around with his homework, but it took so much time to come home and get them after school each day and then get to work that it was hardly worth it. At least when he had the stuff at school he could work on it then to, in the library, in reasonable peace. It also gave him the excuse to be isolated from the others. Ready, he headed down stairs, and started slipping on some shoes.

"See you later Seto." Mokuba said warmly, appearing from the lounge. His school started a little later and was only a few minutes walk away, so he didn't have to leave just let. "You're still coming, right?"

Seto looked at him quizzically. "To what?"_  
_Mokuba sighed, downcast. "It's our last parents evening at school! You said you'd come this time…"

Seto cursed mentally. He'd totally forgotten, and Mokuba knew it. Luckily, he didn't have any meetings or anything like that on. He'd just have to work through his lunch hour and evening to get everything done. He could do it if he pulled an all-nighter. Probably. It'd be okay, and he had promised the kid. Still, it was a nuisance- and that was why he didn't usually go- after all, they gave you reports. But Mokuba insisted this one was important.

Seto had been put off going by the name- _Parents _evening. A harsh, horrible reminder of what they did not have. He was sure it bothered Mokuba, not having any parents. They both made a go of being a family, and it had been so long now… "I'll be there. Have a good day." Seto assured him, heading out the door.

But something had caught him. The _last _parents evening. Mokuba would be at secondary school the following year, and their relationship would forever be different after that- Mokuba had never been much of a kid, but come April, he would be even less so.

Somehow, that had snuck up on him. Now he didn't have Duel Monsters so much anymore, life seemed to be going rather fast. He thought back to that strange time in his life, with Yugi and that weird Puzzle, particularly at the end, with the two fighting, one disappearing. They had all been very upset about it at first, and that bewildered Seto a little. He didn't understand who this person was, or what he had been to them. He didn't understand at all; this 'magic'. Magic was just Science that hadn't been explained yet, he maintained. But even so, those months ago, the days had seemed a lot longer. There had been time for games, to argue with people, to take up a challenge. Nowadays, his life was… well…

Boring.

So, perhaps it was a good job it was going fast after all.

Although he didn't know it, in order for his life to be more interesting, Seto just needed to find something to slow him down again.

_  
I've learnt...that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for._

"We should defiantly eat outside today!" Yugi said, enthusiastically. "While the sun's out."

Anzu nodded. It really was unseasonably nice weather for February. Outside, the sun shone warmly, and the first flowers were beginning to bud or bloom. Spring, it seemed, would be early this year. Everyone, she noticed, was heading outside to eat for the first time in months. The school would be all but deserted.

"Give me a minute." She said to her friends. "I've got to go and get my lunch out of my locker- you guys go ahead." They looked a little dubious, so, grinning, she flapped her hands at them. "Go on! Go find us a good spot, okay?" Her friends agreed, and joined the mass exodus.

Alone at last for the first time that day, Anzu walked a little way down the corridor, finally allowing the smile to slip off her face. Her lunch wasn't in her locker, but something else was. Something she wanted to be alone with.

She didn't really know why she'd brought it to school after opening it that morning. Maybe she wanted to read it when she was more awake, to check it wasn't a dream. But as she pulled out the already battered paper, the words remained the same.

"It wasn't my fault…" Anzu whispered, bitterly. "It wasn't my fault…"

The letter kept it's unfeeling letters, announcing the cancellation of her scholarship to her dance classes. She'd missed too many practices, it said. It was probably true. But it couldn't have been helped. First there was all the chaos caused by their various run-ins with the Items, and then after Yami left… well, Yugi took it hard; like his best friend had died. He'd needed his friends to be there.

And… for a while, she hadn't felt much like dancing anyway.

But now she'd blown it. She'd have to pay for lessons, and she'd been fired months ago from her job for missing too many shifts. Even if she _did _find the money, she wouldn't get very far without the support and sponsorship of the well-known company she'd been with before. She'd squandered her talent, lost her chance.

She rested her head against the locker, causing the door to slam shut. The vibrations echoed through her face and shook out the tears that had been threatening to fall all day. She hadn't told her friends yet, because she knew what they'd do. Yugi would have felt guilty that he'd caused her to miss the practices, Jonouchi and Honda would be angry and make threats; Ryou would question her more then she could bear. She couldn't tell them, not yet. She hadn't told her parents. She just didn't know what she was going to do.

Footsteps. She kept her face to her locker door, hoping they wouldn't see the tears. The person, she couldn't see who, kept right on walking. But he must have known, because he stated, simply "It might never happen."

"It already has." Anzu answered, miserably.

"Fine. Then it's done with. What's next?"

"What?!" She demanded, suddenly angry. She turned, but the person didn't hang around for a confrontation. He'd already disappeared around the corner, toward the library.

But, somehow, those words had stopped her tears; at least for now. More, she felt numb. It wasn't 'done with'! This had been a lifelong ambition of hers, and she couldn't disregard it just like that! It wasn't over. It couldn't be.

She took the letter out to lunch with her, and silently showed it to her friends. They read it, and were silent for a moment.

"So that's why you seemed down this morning." Ryou said, eventually, sighing. "I don't understand! Okay, so things have been a little chaotic, but you could get back to normal now! Weren't you one of their most promising dancers?"

"Apparently not." Anzu answered, dully.

"Of course you are!" Jonouchi yelled. "What kind of an idiot would blow you off?! This _sucks_!"

"It's because of the Puzzle you missed so many practices." Yugi said, quietly. "…I'm sorry."

Anzu let the protests at this wash over her, let all their questions, complaints, statements flow with it. All this had been around her head already. But, somehow, hearing others complaining to, sympathizing, sharing her pain or even getting angry on her behalf, it made her feel loved again. It made her feel like she didn't have to deal with it on her own. Yet, it forced her to think it all through again; but this time, when she cried, there were people there to cry on, and with.

Even so, she didn't get much sleep that night. She kept going over it all in head; the words of the letter, what she should have done differently, how she could get back to where she used to be. But there was nothing but disappointment inside her. She cried again, grieving a lost dream. Eventually, the tears faded, but still she lay awake, the thoughts going around and around in her head, and that one rebellious statement:

_It's done with. What's next?_

That was the problem. It certainly wasn't done with, but she had no idea what she should do next.

_  
I've learnt...that money doesn't buy class._

By the next day, the tears had stopped. After all, she could not cry forever, that she knew. She was still lost, confused as to what to do; couldn't face the fact that maybe she wouldn't be able to dance anymore. Besides, her friends and family were adamant she'd make it somehow. She was certain she could, with their help, though not how. So, when she saw Seto Kaiba heading for the library again towards the end of the lunch break, she made her excuses and followed him.

Seto had spent a long time eating that day, a luxury he couldn't afford. As a result, he headed to the library and settled himself into his usual place, a seat at the table right at the back, where there was not even a window nor view to distract him, next to the teacher's reference section where he almost certainly would not be disturbed. He'd just managed to lay out the papers he would be working on, graphs, memos, reports and goodness knows what else when his peace was interrupted by Anzu Mazaki sliding into the seat opposite him. He looked up at her in irritation.

"What do you want?" He sighed.

She blinked at him in surprise and only said "I didn't know you wore glasses.", which was, of course, entirely unrelated to the original question.

Seto sighed loudly at this. He was indeed wearing a small, thin pair of glasses with a slim black frame, but remarks like that were exactly why he didn't make a habit of wearing them. He'd rather squint at the boards then wear the horrid things. "For reading, Mazaki. You think I can look at computers all day _without _doing damage to my eyes?"

"I guess not." She answered, looking at all the sheets spread over the table shamelessly. "This looks boring as hell. Remind me not to work for you." She commented, idly. "You know, it wouldn't be so _depressing _if you sat near a window… particularly when the weather's as nice as it is…"

"Did you have something to say?" Seto asked, though perhaps not as harshly as he could have done. If he was honest, he'd missed arguing with someone as stubborn as himself, and her comments had been vaguely amusing. Then there was the fact she had been crying yesterday, of course. He didn't want her to start again. That could be awkward.

"I do." Anzu admitted. "I wanted to ask about what you said yesterday. That it was 'done with'."

"Then put it in a form of a question." He shot back, a lot more coolly then he felt.

"How can you say that when you don't even know what had upset me?" She demanded. "How can you dismiss something so _easily_? It was very important to me…"

"I don't doubt it." Seto shrugged. "But you said it had already happened. I was merely pointing out there was no use crying over it, if that was the case."

She looked a little taken aback. "Then… you were trying to be nice?"

"Not in so many words." Seto answered, exasperated. Okay, so he had been- need she point it out and embarrass them both? "But what do you _expect _me to do when someone's crying in the corridor?"

"Insult them." Anzu answered, honestly. "Call them pathetic. So, I naturally assumed…"

"You assumed wrong." Seto snorted, distracted, reading through some documents. "Look, crying over a cut knee or a bad grade or your poor deceased bunny rabbit is pathetic. Your friendship speeches and the way you rely on other people is pathetic. But you're not a pathetic person. You wouldn't cry over nothing. Unless, of course, I've got it all wrong…"

"You disguise your compliments well." Anzu muttered, trying to unravel his point. She wasn't sure he had one.

"It wasn't a compliment." Seto assured her. "You know I'm a realist, Mazaki; so… credit where credit's due. There are… probably some things worth crying over."

Anzu was drawing blanks. She'd never expected him to speak to her like this, although his face was reddening. She'd never expected him to say something like that. "It was worth crying over…" She said, quietly. "I… got kicked out of my dance company. It's been my dream since I was small, and…"

"Find another one."

"Well, it's not that simple…"

"Why not?"

"Because… well, it-"

"Do you have the talent?"

"That depends on-"

"Do you have the talent?" He repeated, impatiently.

"I don't know!" Anzu snapped back, frustrated. He didn't even look up.

"If you do, find another company. If you don't, find another dream." He said, bluntly. "Either way, go away and stop bothering me."

"Is that it?!" Anzu snapped. "Look, Kaiba, my dream's just been blown out the window and I don't know if I can ever get it back! I don't have a certain future like you do! Perhaps, if I did, I wouldn't care, I could be as blasé as you are, but I _do _care! This was something that means- meant- a lot to me, and so it's not as simple as you say it is! Maybe it's 'pathetic' to act this way to you, but I have to care about something!"

"I never said it was pathetic!" Seto answered, standing and slamming stuff angrily into his case. "Stop putting words into my mouth. I don't pretend to understand why you care about this stuff; but if you come crying to me about your problems I can only tell you _my _opinion, _my _perception! My shoulders are not for crying on, Mazaki- I wish I could see the world your way, but I can't! So I'm telling you to get over it and get on with it!"

Anzu was saved from answering by the appearance of a blisteringly mad Librarian. She had never heard such remorseless breaking of the rule for quietness. They were both thrown out and told they would have to serve a detention that evening. Seto stormed off without another word as Anzu was forced into ringing and informing her parents that she'd be late home that evening. Yet, she was still thinking about what Seto had said; and she had to wonder what more would be said that evening as they sat together in detention.

_  
I've learnt...that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.  
_

They'd put them with Mr Tataya, the English teacher. There was no worse fate known to man. He always fit the punishment to the crime. He leered down at them now, down his long slim nose.

"Well, I didn't expect to ever have to do a detention with _you, _Miss Mazaki." He snarled. "I'm very disappointed… What were the two of you thinking, shouting in the library? I hear you were arguing… Might I ask what about?"

They remained silent.

"Oh, so _now _you don't want to talk?" He huffed, folding his arms across his chest. He paused for a moment, thinking. "Well, we'll see what we can do about that. As you were so _anxious _to speak amidst all that fine literature in the library, you can do so now. Neither of you are therefore leaving this room until you've recited five poems. Mr Kaiba, you may begin."

Anzu watched anxiously, but Seto appeared to take it all in his stride. "I only know one, that my brother taught me." He stated.

"Then start with that one!"

"I don't think this is a suitable situation for reciting a poem." Seto informed him. It was really more of a warning.

"Mr Kaiba, stop arguing and recite the poem!"

"Fine." Seto sighed. "And it's actually a limerick." Then, he drew breath, and said, in exactly the same tone as before: "There once was a young man from China, who wasn't a very good climber. He slipped on a rock and snapped off his-"

"Thankyou!" The teacher screeched hastily. "That will be _quite _enough!"

"That's what I say whenever Mokuba feels the need to recite it." Seto agreed.

"I…" Unable to think of anything to say, Tataya rounded on Anzu, who was desperately trying to control helpless giggles. You had to admire Seto's courage. "Mazaki! Don't encourage him!"

"S-sorry sir…" She said, trying to compose herself. It was just one of the last things she'd expected him to come out with- it was like something that would amuse Jou… and he was sitting there so calmly…

"I think we'll be safer with some real literature… I have _just _the thing." Mr Tataya said, as he pulled a paper from the drawer of his desk. He slammed it down in front of Seto. "Read!"

Seto surprisingly obliged.

"Twas brilling, and the slivy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe, all mimsy were the borogroves…"

"Stop!" Tataya commanded. "Miss Mazaki, please control yourself!"

"I'm sorry!" She spluttered, helplessly, in hysterical laughter. "It's… just he's saying it so _seriously…_"

Needless to say, 'Mimsy' was another word on the list of things she never thought Seto Kaiba would utter.

"How would you suggest I say it?" Seto asked, sounding just as bored as he had when reading the poem.

"I don't know, I just-"

"Excuse me!" The teacher bellowed. "Are you two forgetting where you are?"

"No." Seto replied, honestly. Anzu, now in hysterics, laughed even harder at even this slight thing.

Mr Tataya's face was getting redder and redder as he got more and more annoyed. Anzu was sure he was going to explode. "You will stop being so rude, _both _of you, or I shall be informing your parents!"

Anzu stopped laughing then. She noticed Kaiba looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Could he be…? She was sure of it, and if he wasn't silently asking her to make a comment, he'd probably play along. Besides, it wouldn't be so bad to see him yell at her again. It'd been ages since she'd had a good row with anyone.

"But, sir, Kaiba's parents…" She said, softly, sympathetically. Sure enough, he played along, looking down at the desk silently, then he curled his hands into fists, and glared up at the teacher. Having been on the receiving end of that look, Anzu knew how scary it could be.

"You should watch what you say, _sir_," Seto hissed. "I could be _deeply _emotionally scarred."

The air with which the latter half of the statement was said left some doubt around the truth of the phrase. However, Tataya had to be careful- if it got to the board that he had upset a student over their dead parents… and with Kaiba, it was highly likely the governors would hear if he didn't change tack pretty fast.

"Then we'll just put it down on your permanent record!" He blustered.

Seto shrugged. "Why does it matter? I already have a job that earns fifty times what you do."

"That's it!" Mr Tataya roared. "Get out! Get out _immediately!_ Rest assured the head will be hearing of this!"

"Yes, do that." Seto answered. "I've been wanting to speak to him. His son's just joined my accountancy section and is _barely _keeping his head above the water…"

Tataya was silent for a second. There wasn't much you could say to that. "Get out!" He shouted, again, and Seto left, seemingly completely unconcerned.

Anzu sat in the classroom as Tataya recomposed himself. He seemed surprised to see Anzu still sitting there when he looked up.

"Mazaki, you're dismissed too." He said, tiredly. "I think I understand why you were shouting at him now…"

_  
I've learnt...that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated  
and loved._

"Hey, Kaiba, wait for me!" Anzu called, spotting the aforementioned just ahead of the corridor. He did not stop, but for a moment she almost thought he slowed his pace a little. Either way, she caught him up, grabbing his elbow lightly to get his attention.

"That was excellent!" She grinned at him. "Thanks for getting me out. Although, seeing you wind up Tataya like that… It was fun!"

"Let's do it again some time." Seto deadpanned, shaking her off. They continued to head towards the doors to the school.

"I'd like that." Anzu remarked, only half joking.

"Me to." Seto said, surprising her, though he almost seemed to be talking to himself. "Tataya lasted longer then I expected… it was a relief to have a challenge again…"

"A challenge?" Anzu echoed. "Wait a second. Does that mean you're just… bored?"

Seto looked down at her, and for a second it seemed he would deny it. But Anzu had hit the nail right on the head, and his resolve crumbled away. "Yes." He sighed. "…At least Yugi, or… or whoever the hell you say it was, made you think. Since he stopped dueling, there's been no challenge in the game."

Anzu couldn't stop smiling. She _knew _it. "So, you _do _miss hanging out with us!"

"I never hung out with you." Seto snapped, hastily. "And the only thing I 'miss' is having to _think _about what I'm doing. At the moment, everything's too easy. If it had been a brick that had been presenting a challenge, I would have 'missed' that. Unfortunately, your friends are a lot noisier then a brick."

Anzu shook her head in exasperation. "Why won't you just _admit _we're your friends?"

"You are _not _my 'friends'. I do _not _need 'friends' when I can manage perfectly well on my own." Seto told her, primly.

"But you _can't_!" Anzu crowed, triumphantly, as they came out of the doors. "You've just said yourself- you're bored on your own!"

"Maybe." Seto admitted. "But didn't I already say that I couldn't see the world your way even if I wanted to?"

"I…" Anzu stuttered, stunned. So he really had meant it when he'd shouted that he wished he could see the world like she did. She didn't really know what to say. "I didn't think that…"

Seto, heading the other way, pretended not to hear; but to his surprise, she called after him.

"Hey, Kaiba!" She shouted. "We're all going to the Valentine's dance on Friday, as a big group. You should come and join us! You might even have fun!"

Seto turned to her with an ice cold smile, as though the very notion of _him _going to a social event was amusing. "I don't think so."

Anzu sighed as she watched him leave. For a second there, she'd almost got through to him. He had certainly been behaving differently the last week or so, as though there was something on his mind. He'd been nice to her, had even seemed to enjoy winding the teacher up just now, and she'd thought maybe he'd consider coming with them. She thought that maybe, just as knowing the Pharaoh had changed them, it had changed Kaiba too. It seemed she was wrong.

He had _almost _said that he wanted to want friends. Unfortunately, almost was never quite enough.

_  
I've learnt...that the Lord didn't do it all in one day._

What makes me think I can?

Seto walked up to the school, his tie flapping a little in the wind. There were two people waiting on the doors, dressed very oddly. He hoped they'd let them into the dance, before his resolve was weakened.

What was he doing at this dance to begin with? It was a question Seto had been asking himself the whole way there. The answer, as usual, was his brother. Who would collapse under the pressure of a statement like: 'I wish you'd go. You never have fun anymore. You never smile. You never do anything… normal. I'm worried you're going to be lonely for the rest of your life!'.

And so, here he was, in his black suit and tie. Mokuba had rolled his eyes and said he looked like he was going to a funeral, but Seto said there would be so much pink and red around that the darkness would be a relief for the eyes. He wasn't particularly looking forward to lurking in a corner all evening. Although, Anzu would be there, and when she wasn't talking about friendship, she wasn't so bad… It might even beat standing on his own.

Maybe he could actually…

"What are you supposed to be?" The guy on the door demanded. Seto looked him up and down. He was wearing some bizarre blue outfit and what looked like cat ears. And as for the girl with him… She appeared to be dressed as a rabbit in a top hat.

"What are _you _supposed to be?" Seto shot back. The rabbit girl nudged the cat guy, who sighed a little but then said:

"Takuto!"

"Meroko!" The girl added.

"And together we are…" They continued together. "Negumi Ramen!"

"…What?" Seto demanded.

"You know," 'Meroko' prompted. "Off 'Full Moon wo Sagashite'? We're cosplaying!"

"What the _heck _are you talking about?" Seto answered, irritably.

"Never mind." 'Takuto' said, hastily, having heard about Kaiba's temper. "But didn't you see the posters? We can't let you in unless you're in fancy dress…"

Seto ground his teeth. Mazaki hadn't told him _that_. But now they would not let him in, he was determined to do so. It was a matter of pride. "I'm James Bond." He spat.

"You'll have to try harder." The girl insisted. "You're not Bond and you know it. He always wore a _bow _tie."

"I hardly think it matters…" Takuto tried.

"It does! He doesn't look like Bond at all! Plus, there's already ten inside…"

"How about one of the Blues Brothers?" Seto asked, having racked his brain for someone else who wore a suit.

"They had hats and glasses!"

Seto had one last idea, and after that, he'd simply knock them both out and walk over them. Sighing resignedly, he pulled out his glasses and slipped them on.

"Clark Kent." He said, making it sound like he was raising the stakes in a poker game.

"I don't know…" Rabbit-girl said dubiously. "Clark Kent had glasses _at least _twice the size of those…"

"Just let him in!" Cat-boy said, wearily, standing aside at last to let Seto in. Seto shoved past him, and, still not entirely sure as to what he was doing here, went into the hall.

It was everything he'd envisioned and worse.

There was smoke, dry ice, floating around the room at intervals, between pink hearts and shining gold streamers hanging from the ceiling. Heart shapes balloons hovered there to, over a long white table with various snack foods and presumably spiked drinks. There was a DJ playing songs he'd never heard before and didn't particularly care to, and all around people crammed in, dancing in groups in stupid costumes. It was only his pride at walking past 'Negumi Ramen' again that stopped him from leaving. Things only got worse as suddenly someone with a beard waved at him and walked over. A wizard.

"Never thought I'd see you here, Kaiba." He said, his tone neutral, as though not sure whether to be friendly or not.

"And I never thought I'd see you in a beard." He replied, not sure if he was going to be friendly yet himself. "So I guess it's a day of firsts."

"This thing is ridiculous." Jonouchi agreed, pulling it off with some difficulty before replacing his tall hat. "I guess that's what I get for letting them convince me to be Gandalf."

"Great. You're a Ringer." Seto stated, leaning against the table.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jonouchi demanded. "Look, we were coming as a group so between us we have half the Fellowship here! See, over there's Honda- he's supposed to be Aragorn, though I don't see it; and Ryou's with him, he's supposed to be Saruman…Why he couldn't be Gandalf I don't know…"

"And I suppose Mazaki is Arwen?" Seto asked, wryly, though he could imagine the girl dressed as an elven princess.

"Nope. I can't quite work out _what _she's supposed to be. She's over there with Yugi, look. He's Frodo."

Seto couldn't help but look. Yugi really _was _dressed as a hobbit. He chuckled silently. That had made his day…

"Don't laugh!" Jonouchi rounded on him angrily. "Look at _your _costume! It's just a pair of glasses! Who are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"Clark Kent."

"…I don't see it. You look more like you're going to a funeral…"

Just then, Anzu and Yugi came from where they had been 'mingling' to join them. They seemed surprised to see Seto there, and even more surprised to see him and Jou standing there without killing each other. Anzu smiled at him.

"So you _did _come. Great, now I owe Mokuba money…"

"What?" Seto glared.

"He bet me he could convince you. I didn't think you'd break for anyone, but it seems I was wrong…" She laughed lightly, but then saw the evil looks he was giving her. "Oh, don't be like that, Mr Kent, we just wanted to see you have fun…"

Seto was surprised she had recognised his 'costume'. Unfortunately, he couldn't do the same for hers. He knew it suited her, in a weird way, though. She was wearing two small red flowers in her hair, and then was wearing a dress with puffy straps instead of sleeves; that was deep green at the top and then went down into a flared skirt, slightly pleated, that changed colour between various shades of green and yellow. Whatever she was supposed to be, she made a very good one.

"You never warned me this was fancy dress." He said, accusingly. "This was the best I could do on the door!"

"Well, you wouldn't have come if I'd said…" Anzu protested, logically enough. "I didn't think you'd come anyway, to be honest… I'm glad you did!"

"I'm sure." Seto snorted. "What are you dressed as, anyway?" He asked, annoyed for no real reason.

"I'm a Bellossom!" Anzu said, cheerily.

"Pretend, for a moment, I have _no idea _what you're talking about…"

"It's a Pokémon."

"Oh." Seto said, flatly. "Wonderful." Already annoyed with his hated glasses, he began to take them off. Anzu put out a hand to stop him.

"How are you going to be Clark Kent without those?" She demanded.

"I'm about to transform into Superman." He deadpanned.

"Oh good." She said, coyly. "That means you'll be ripping your shirt off next, I suppose?"

Seto hesitated, then put the glasses back on. "Oh look," He said, pointing. "There's Spiderman. I'm sure he can handle it…"

They fell silent, until Yugi awkwardly tried to fill the gap. "So… It's been a while since we've seen you, Kaiba. Not since Yami went…"

"Because once my rival had gone, there was no need for me to follow you around." He answered, bluntly. "Without him, you wouldn't stand a chance against me, Yugi…"

"I don't know." Yugi smirked. "You couldn't beat him, but I did…"

"Is that supposed to be a challenge?" Seto demanded, hopefully.

"You bet it is!" Yugi answered, who had apparently missed a challenge as much as Seto himself had these past few months.

"Stop _right _there!" Anzu interrupted. "This is a _dance_, not a duel! Come on, Yugi, let's see if you've got any better since last year…" She grabbed his elbow and dragged him forcibly towards the dance floor.

"Ow! Anzu, stop, you're hurting me…!"

Seto watched him go, trying not to let a shred of his incredulity show on his face. Watching Yugi _attempting_ to dance made him sincerely hope he hadn't improved since last year. He was _not _a dancer. It was painful to watch. The graceful, slow, beautiful atmosphere the music brought about was being massacred by dancing like that. He didn't know why Anzu had brought this upon herself…

"Well, there you go." Jonouchi said, in the same careful tone. "If you came here looking to beat Yugi, you've missed your chance…"

Seto winced mentally as Yugi managed to trip over one of Anzu's feet and almost fell over. "Beat him? Just watch me."

And, to everyone's surprise, he went and waded his way through the swaying couples, took Anzu's hands, and proceeded to show a bewildered Yugi how it was done.

_  
I've learnt...that to ignore the facts does not change the facts. _

He had never thought something could _feel_ beautiful.

He had danced with her out of pity, having been to enough formal events to have needed to be able to dance himself. But this time was different. Every other time, both he and his partner had been obliged to dance. Somehow, he could tell Anzu was dancing out pleasure, dancing because she wanted to dance. Her movements felt natural and individual, without a motive behind each move, without scheming and plotting. He could feel the rhythm of her heart and the rhythm of the music, and it felt beautiful; if such a thing was possible. Perhaps that's all beauty was- someone doing something they loved and that passion shining through.

He'd known Anzu would enjoy it. He never thought he would.

Perhaps it was their closeness. Of course he'd been this physically close to people before, he'd been forced into it, but he wasn't mentally straining for distance, and neither was she. They were where they wanted to be.

"You're good at this…" She murmured, dreamily. "I never thought you'd enjoy dancing."

"Who said I did?"

She smiled up at him. "Your movement did. Your rhythm did. The way you're dancing with me right now is. This feeling… you like it."

Seto said nothing. What she was saying was true. He just didn't know what the 'feeling' was.

"You're the first one that understands." She said, quietly. "I've never felt this… resonance with any of my other partners…Oh! That probably sounds so dumb to you! I'm sorry."

Seto said nothing. He had decided the feeling was good. Whatever it was, he didn't want to let it go. He hadn't felt this way about anything for a long time, he hadn't felt this close to someone in his life; and until right then, he hadn't even realised he _wanted_ to feel that close to someone. Resonance was a good word. He felt like she understood things about him he didn't know himself yet, and that he knew the same for her. Something had changed, or maybe something that had been jammed up inside him somewhere had just clicked. Perhaps it was just the timing, that this event had happened when his emotions were the most unguarded, but now he had identified the need to change, he knew he would. He was stubborn enough. He still didn't understand Mazaki's insistence that friendship was so important, nor why, if you had the ability to go out and get something, you should let people stop you.

But perhaps he could learn. Or at least investigate a little, find out if it was worth trying…

"Now I see why you were so upset." He said. "You love this more then anything."

"Yes. Facing challenges, or making a new machine, or winding up a teacher, or solving a puzzle… that's what you love in life. And I love this. But… you were right. Crying didn't do me any good. Once I stopped, I went and found another company. I have an audition next week."

"Good." The song came to an end, and, suddenly awake, he released her. Surveying the hall, he realised every single pair of eyes had been on them, that no-one else had been dancing. That the sight of his just being there, let alone dancing, had been so unbelievable that everyone had stopped dead. Now the mysterious feeling that had been generated was fading, he began to wonder what the heck had been wrong with him. Now that the music was gone, the spell had been broken, whatever strange thing he had felt cut off, the warmth gone.

Only one thing had not reverted back to normal. And that was the longing to keep the feeling of the dance.

"Wow." Anzu smiled, surprised now that her brain was turned back on again.

"Pretty good, Kaiba!" Jou declared loudly, appearing with Yugi to stand next to them; and at this blatant sign that they should be left alone, people drifted back into dancing and talking amongst themselves. "I never thought you'd be a dancer."

"Neither did I." Seto admitted. "I suppose it just depends on your partner."

"It didn't work for me." Yugi laughed. "It must just be you two."

At this point, Anzu hurriedly excused herself to get a drink, seemingly embarrassed. Seto didn't follow why, even when Yugi seemed to think he did.

"Be careful, okay?" He said, calmly. "Anzu had a bit of a thing for the Pharaoh once, so when he left… I think she's over it now, but don't expect too much too soon."

"What?" Seto demanded, angry purely because he hated being confused.

"Geez." Jonouchi sighed. "You're really bad at this, Kaiba, you know that?"

"Coming from you, Jonouchi, I-"

"She likes you." He interrupted, simply.

"I- What?" Seto blinked.

Jonouchi repeated himself as Yugi nodded in agreement. "And you know what else, Kaiba?" He said, sweetly.

"I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway."

"You think our Anzu is totally hot too!" Jonouchi declared, sweetly.

"What?!"

Yugi elbowed his friend hard. "What he means is…" He began, gently "Well, just now, when you were dancing, did you feel… I don't know…um, _different_?"

"I…" Seto was going a little pale as he realised what they were telling him. "Oh. Oh, no."

"Oh yes." Yugi said, smiling.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of _lust_!" Jonouchi said, cheerily. "We all knew you had it in you!"

"Shut up!" Seto snarled, hopelessly embarrassed. "Open your mouth again, mutt, and you die…"

"What are you going to do?" Yugi asked Seto, calmly.

"I'm thinking decapitation…"

"No, about Anzu!"

"I…" Seto said, slowly. "I don't know." He said, eventually. He didn't want to admit he had 'fallen' for someone. He'd always thought himself above that. He wasn't even sure that Yugi and Jonouchi were right. They weren't often right. But… whatever it had been, he had liked it. And perhaps it had not been the dancing.

"Tell her." Yugi instructed him. "Tell her how you feel."

"…I don't even know myself." Seto insisted.

"But you want to find out." Jonouchi said, suddenly serious. "You always want to know _everything_, right?"

"This I'm willing to leave alone." Seto answered, though he was unsure if that was true, and then pushed his way out of the school, ignoring questions that were thrown at him, and out onto the car park. He'd actually let them mess with his head, and there was no way he'd get it back into order in that smoke filled room.

But someone had followed him out. And, just as before, his resolve melted away.

"Seto…" Anzu said, quietly. "Are you angry? Because… because…" She went very red. "Because they told you how I… feel?"

Was that it? Or was it because he had felt it too?

Worrying over choices was not something Seto tended to do, so, as she looked worriedly at him, he decided. He'd decided, come what may. __

I've learnt. 

"I'm not angry." He told her. "And… I'm not embarrassed, either. But, I am a little curious."

"About what?"

"As to how… or what… it is that you 'feel'." She went redder as he paused, so, to ease it a little, he added. "And if it was the same as what I felt."

"I… I don't know." Anzu said, quietly, and they fell in an awkward silence. Anzu knew these well, and knew that, when all else failed, to change the subject. "So… are you enjoying yourself?"

"I still feel a little uncomfortable." Seto maintained. "But… I think I could learn to enjoy it. Maybe." Feeling embarrassed still, he knew what he wanted to ask. "…I'd like to dance with you some more."

Anzu blushed also. He didn't want to dance. He wanted to dance with _her_. They stood in silence, going red.

"What are we going to do?" Seto sighed, eventually, seemingly as new to all this as she was. It was clear what he was referring to.

"Does that mean you want to be friends now?" Anzu asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Why do things by halves?" Seto replied, looking a little flustered and totally opposite to his usual calm demeanor. "If I'm going to do this, I want to do it well. So no, I don't want to be your friend. I want to be more then that or nothing at all."

Anzu laughed in exasperation. "I think I'll have to go for the former. But you really _do _disguise your compliments well…"

He said nothing, looking at the floor, embarrassed, confused, lost. He was sure he'd done the right thing, but had no idea what to do next. As a result, Anzu took the next move, and came and held his hand.

"Happy Valentines day." She muttered, and, for the first time, Seto felt inclined to agree.

"Do you think he told her?" Jonouchi asked, back inside, having got Ryou and Honda up to date with what was going on.

"I think so." Ryou answered, looking away from the window so as not to attract attention to what was outside of it. After all, some moments you only want to be shared between you and that one other special person.__

I've learnt...that the less time I have to work, the more things I get done. 

"**_Sitting here and reminiscing is all well and good," Anzu said, sitting up a little straighter. "It's Valentines day, and you said we'd go out…"_**

"_**I don't mind just sitting here, now you've **forced **me into taking the day off." Seto answered. "Plus, it saves me some money. You're so expensive."**_

_**She hit him. "No I am not." She said, firmly. "Besides, if I **was, **you'd be able to afford it, you rich git!" He looked back at her, tried to glare, but the corners of his mouth kept turning up, and he ended up smiling.**_

"_**Is that it? You only want me for my money?" He demanded, lightly.**_

"_**No." Anzu admitted, settling back into the sofa. "I want you because you had a change of heart; and for some reason, two years ago, I stopped seeing you as a rich git, but as a **nice **rich git." She laughed a little. "You're always much nicer this time of year. Who knew you were a romantic at heart?"**_

**_He looked away. "…I'm not nicer because of Valentine's day. Get real. It's because…"_**

"_**Because of what?" Anzu teased. "You were nice to me two years ago because…"**_

"**_I was nice to you two years ago," Seto repeated, hesitantly "Because I wasn't myself. Because it had been ten years since my parents had died… and I wanted to be a person they would have been proud of. I decided to change. And I decided you were worth changing for."_**

**_Anzu didn't know what to say to that. She mouthed wordlessly, but then fell still again. Seto turned to her, smiling awkwardly._**

"_**Happy valentines day."**_

_  
Show how much you care._

_The End_

A/N: There we are. Eee, it's been so long since I've written a S/A fic! _(Happiness)_ The Statements in Italics are actually from a circular E-mail for national friendship week. Here's the full version:

_I Don't care how many times you receive this email- feel special every time you do because everyone that sends it to you think and know that you are special to them._

A girl asked a guy if he thought she was pretty,

He said...no.

She asked him if he would want to be with her forever...and he said  
no.

She then asked him if she were to leave would he cry, and once again he replied with a no.

She had heard enough. As she  
walked away, tears streaming down her face the boy grabbed her arm and said...

"You're not pretty you're beautiful. I don't want to be with you forever, I NEED to be with you forever. And I wouldn't cry if you walked away...I'd die..."  
SO NOW I WILL SAY:

I like you because of who you are to me...A true friend.

Remember:

A good friend will come bail you out of jail...

But a true friend will be sitting next to you saying ... "WE screwed up, but we had  
fun!"

Proud to be your Friend!

Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence, and don't skip ahead.

I've learned...that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned...that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned...that money doesn't buy class.

I've learned...that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned...that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated  
and loved.

I've learned...that the Lord didn't do it all in one day.

What makes me think I can?

I've learned...that to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned.

I've learned...that the less time I have to work, the more things I get done.

It's National Friendship Week.

Show your friends how much you care.

As you can see, I changed 'learned' for 'learnt', but beyond that, I stuck to it. I hope you all enjoyed, and thanks for reading:D


End file.
